


Portrait Stories

by girljen



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 04:46:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26347318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girljen/pseuds/girljen
Summary: Haley is building her portfolio. The last thing she needs are portraits. She puts out a call, and everyone in town answers! Watch what goes on from both sides of the camera.
Relationships: Alex/Haley (Stardew Valley), Evelyn/George (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 29





	1. Emily and Gus's Portraits

“Haley, you’re only hurting yourself and you know it.”

“Then why are you telling me?” Haley sat up in bed, threw the blankets off, and pouted in her pajamas. “You’re so mean!”

Emily was unfazed. She’d seen this drama hundreds, if not thousands, of times. “Because bringing it to your attention helps. You said you were going to take portraits today. You need them by the end of next month for the Zuzu University Photography application.”

“Then why can’t I do them next month? Yoba’s ass!” 

“Because I know that you’re a careful and artistic editor, and it takes time to make photos come out as good as yours do.”

That stopped Haley’s tantrum in her tracks.

Emily continued. “I’ve seen what you can do when you have the time to sleep on a photo a few times, set it aside and look at it with fresh eyes. It’s like building up from lingerie, adding a dress, adding jewelry, and then adding that beautiful makeup that you do.” She smiled. “The raw photo is beautiful. The first edit is beautiful. Then the second, the third, the fourth, they all add something to this gorgeous photo, and your portfolio needs photos in all of those stages. You owe it to yourself to give yourself that time to decide which photos need what processing.”

Haley sighed. “Thanks. You’re right. At least let me take a shower. Can we do a couple of yours at the Saloon so I can practice portraits in low light? Ugh, taking pictures of people is always so awkward!”

“Sure. While you’re in the shower, I’ll fix up some breakfast and some calming herbal tea.”

“Don’t put anything too weird in it.”

“I won’t...” Emily smiled, neglecting to tell Haley that she’d be using her own definition of ‘too weird.’ 

As Haley headed for the shower, Emily picked leaves from the plants in the sewing room. She handed a sprig of ashwagandha to the parrot, who was hanging out on a kitchen chair.

The parrot squawked and went to work on the earthy-smelling little evergreen sprig.

Emily brewed up the other evergreen sprigs, mint leaves, purple mushroom, catnip, and herbs. She used organic fairy rose honey to sweeten Haley’s tea, hopefully enough to mask the taste of the weirder ingredients.

After tea, hair, and makeup, Haley and Emily went outside. It was a beautiful autumn day, the kind invoked by sipping a crisp apple cider or sitting in front of a crackling fire as wind blows the dry leaves past the window. 

“What do you want me to do?” Emily asked. She struck a silly, overly dramatic pose to show off her mustard yellow turtleneck and patchwork skirt.

Haley shuffled her feet. “Just...do what comes naturally.”

A smile crept across Emily’s face.

“Wait!! Don’t be too weird!” Haley laughed nervously. “First, just stay still and look at the camera to make sure I have my settings right.”

Emily smiled. Haley took a photo.

“Okay. Now stop smiling.”

Emily looked calmly at the camera, without a smile.

“Thanks. I’m gonna mess around with the settings for a second…”

After a couple minutes of adjusting, test photos, and more adjusting, Haley’s camera was ready to go. Haley herself wasn’t quite as easy to adjust. “I just don’t know how to get people to look like themselves on camera! I’ve seen all kinds of videos on how to direct a subject and I know to snap a lot of pictures but I can never get the right one!”

“Well, why don’t you ask them what they’d be doing in that setting if you weren’t there? Or focus on a part of them that doesn’t require them to do much, like an eye or the curve of their neck?”

“Alright...what would you be doing if I wasn’t here?” Haley asked. She folded her arms.

“I’d be sitting down and meditating.”

“Okay, do that. I can’t be, like, completely silent, but I won’t talk and distract you.”

“Great! I’ll set a timer for five minutes.” Emily fished an egg timer out of the pocket of her skirt and twisted it.

“You carry an egg timer in your skirt?”

“You don’t?”

Emily sat down on the ground with the egg timer beside her. She arranged her skirt, ran a hand through her hair, and settled into her body. All the while, Haley was clicking away, approaching her sister from different angles. 

Haley didn’t touch or direct Emily, she just moved around the yard, shooting from different distances, different heights, and in different light as the clouds moved across the sky. She was delighted when the wind caught Emily’s hair. Emily didn’t seem to notice.

The timer marked the end of the meditation session with a gentle ding.

“Mui-wah…” Emily’s voice droned. Haley stepped back.

“Mui-waaaaaaaahhh…” Her eyes fluttered open as Haley kept snapping pictures.

Emily spread her arms wide open and looked up at the cloudy sky above. “Yoba, we receive your blessings with gratitude on this beautiful day.”

“Awww…” Haley’s face softened. “That’s really sweet.”

They made their way inside so Emily could change her outfit, then trekked to the Saloon. 

“Good afternoon, Gus! I brought Haley and we’re doing a photoshoot!” Emily yelled as she opened the door, knowing Gus was probably in the back. 

He replied, from far back in the kitchen. “Cash drawer’s not out yet, so if you pour anything, write it on the ledger and ring it in when your shift starts!” He paused. “And don’t be too weird!”

“Why do people always say that?” Emily asked.

Haley giggled.

“Okay, there was the bear incident, but that was only one time!”

Haley laughed even harder.

Again, Gus called from the back. “What bear incident?! I was talking about when you got ahold of all those roller skates and got everyone doing the limbo!”

“Disregard!” Emily turned to Haley. “Would you like me to close the shutters for lower light?”

“Yes, please.” She got to work setting up her camera on a table near the door.

“What bear incident?” Gus walked out from behind the bar and wiped his hands on his apron. 

Emily, now dressed in a deep mahogany-toned dress, breezed past him and drew two pints from behind the bar. He followed her.

“Tell me about the bear.”

Emily twirled around, holding a beer in each hand, lit up by the strobing light of Haley’s flash. “Come with me!” She sashayed over to the dark corner and set one beer at each seat. “Is it okay if Haley takes your picture?”

“Right now, I’m more concerned about this bear thing.” Gus folded his arms.

Emily gave Haley a thumbs-up.

Haley nodded and started snapping pictures, with and without flash.

“Okay, this happened last fall. I was about halfway to work when I saw a little bear in the town square, not a baby, but definitely not very old. So I said hi to them…”

Gus’s face fell and the color drained away.

Emily continued. “...and asked if they were hungry.”

“You didn’t let him in the saloon, did you?”

“Them,” Emily said. “I don’t know their gender, and don’t want to assume. And no, bears are wonderful creatures, but they don’t belong around humans. Anyway, the bear said that yes, they were hungry.”

“Wait a minute…” A smirk crept across Gus’s face. “How do you know?”

Haley fluttered around Gus and Emily as they spoke, snapping photos and adjusting equipment. She opened the shutters halfway, then all the way. She switched lenses.

“I sensed it from deep within their root chakra.” She nodded matter-of-factly. “I thought about my options. I could feed them from the trash, but then they’d associate trash cans with food and they’d get into trouble. I could feed them from the kitchen, but then you’d associate me with missing food and I’d get into trouble. So I walked down into the river, cleared my mind, focused my energy--”

Haley snorted, trying to hold in a laugh.

“--and I reached in and grabbed a chub right out of the water! I tossed it to the bear, waved them down to the river, and explained how to walk upstream toward the woods and catch the fish going downstream--”

A look of realization dawned on Gus’s face. “That’s the day you came to work in your underwear!”

“That’s the one! Thanks for letting me go home and change, by the way.”

Gus laughed uproariously. “Here I thought you were gonna tell me some horror story about a bear in my bar, destroying everything, or coming by for leftovers after you leave...oh, Yoba, this is great!” He took a big drink of his beer. “And that wasn’t a ‘let,’ Emily, that was a ‘make.’ I understand your willingness to break social taboos, but I take health regulations seriously.”

Emily nodded.

The conversation died out. 

Gus took another drink of his beer and pushed his chair back, as if to stand.

“No, wait!” Haley put her hand out. “Mr. Gus! Would you mind finishing your beer at the table with Emily? I’m getting some good photos here.”

“Yeah, Gus, this is fun!” Emily laughed. “We haven’t sat down and had a drink in way too long. So how’s your mom doing?”

“Well, she’s getting up there in years…”

Haley ran. She grabbed a centerpiece from the VIP room in the back and put it on Gus and Emily’s table, zooming in on Emily’s hands as she fiddled with it.

“...and once those leaves really start coming down, I’ll need to take a day off and go up on Mama’s roof so she doesn’t try to clean the gutters out herself. Think you can handle a whole shift by yourself?”

“Definitely, especially if it's a slow day. She’s a headstrong lady, isn’t she?”

Gus smiled a warm, tender smile. “She is, but only because she wants to be the one helping, the one giving to everyone else. When Rosie and I were growing up, her house was the house that all the neighborhood kids hung out at. She had half the neighborhood callin’ her Mama!”

“What about the other half?” Emily asked.

“They were grownups, so they called her Ms. Charlotte and gave her some money here and there for watching their kids and feeding them dinner.”

“What did she do, anyway?” Emily asked. “I don’t think you ever told me.”

Gus shrugged and smiled. “She was Mama. She stayed home, kept house, raised me and Rosie, took in stray cats and dogs and children…” He chuckled. 

Haley popped up behind Gus’s shoulder and motioned to Emily. She mimed dishing something out, as if to say, “Keep going.”

“Oh yeah?” What about your dad?”

Gus’s face flattened. He took a long last drink of his beer. “Hmph.” He took a deep breath and looked up, as if searching for the right words. “Father was a businessman. Lots of travel, not much time at home. Around the time when I was nine or ten years old and Rosie was about thirteen, he just didn’t come home anymore. Winter came around, Mama started crocheting hats and scarves to sell as gifts and making food to sell for the Feast of the Winter Star. Couple weeks before the Feast, she told us that our father wouldn’t be coming home anymore and that year’s celebration might be a little lean.”

“Really!” Emily leaned in. “That’s so hard to go through, especially as a child that age!”

“She never did tell me what happened. She just said, we got divorced, and it’ll be better for you kids in the long run. I looked him up when I was a teenager, and found out that he was in federal prison! Still is, actually. Charges are sealed for his safety, that’s what the clerk said.”

“Oh, Yoba! That is not what I expected to hear. No wonder I see those browns and grays in your aura sometimes.” She reached across the table and patted Gus’s hand.

Gus also reached across the table, to take Emily’s beer, which she hadn’t touched. He took a drink and set it down on his side of the table. “I’ll get these, plus your shift drink. Look at this.”

This time, it was Emily’s turn to snort in an attempt to suppress a laugh.

Gus pulled out his wallet. Like many older men, he still kept photos in there. He unfolded the photo folio and pointed to the pictures. “There’s Mama and there’s Rosie.” His mother and older sister looked like they could be twins, if not for the age difference. They both had pale complexions, rosy cheeks, and wide blue eyes. Ms. Charlotte’s hair was gray, and in a bun on the top of her head. Rosie’s was blonde, and it spilled over her shoulders.

“They’re beautiful, Gus!”

He didn’t seem to hear her. He pointed at another picture. “There’s my father.” Like Gus, he was stout and swarthy, with brown hair and eyes. He had the same broad nose as Gus, and the same round face and curled mustache, though his was accompanied by a neatly groomed beard. He was wearing a suit; it was a professional headshot.

Emily looked up at Gus, then down at the picture, then over at Haley, who was busily taking photos and moving the centerpiece and the beers around.

“Now, I still don’t know what he did. I have some ideas, if Mama’s protecting us kids and the prison’s protecting him. I worry that I might have some of those baser urges inside me, just waiting to rear their ugly heads. I haven’t felt ‘em yet, but I devote my life to Yoba and serving my fellow humans and being like my mama. If I ever have the urge to do something terribly wrong, I only hope that Yoba and Mama have gotten so far into my heart that I know that doing wrong isn’t even a possibility.”

As Gus finished Emily’s beer, they talked about his mom, his sister, and the divine grace of Yoba. All the while, Haley took pictures, relieved that she didn’t have to direct anything. She was getting some great shots of Emily, and some even better shots of Gus! He was so expressive, and the Saloon was such a natural setting for him.

Haley would stay up until late that night, going through photos and doing preliminary edits.


	2. Jodi's Family Photos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jodi takes advantage of Haley's portrait practice to finally get some family photos done. How will Haley handle four subjects, and what will she find?

“I’m just glad pajama photoshoots at home are in and formal photoshoots are out.” Sam poured a mug of coffee for Haley. “Mom’s been going nuts about cleaning the house for these pictures, but that’s a lot better than getting us all dressed up and dragging us to some cheesy studio backdrop in Grampleton.” He ran a hand through his clean and surprisingly long blonde hair. He hadn’t spiked it up, it was silky and smooth. “At least this time, it makes sense for me not to have my hair done.” He gave Haley her mug.

“Thanks.” Haley took a tiny sip of the coffee. “You didn’t have to get me coffee…”

“Well, yeah, but coffee’s awesome, and I don’t want you to make me look like a dork on camera.” Sam shrugged.

“Oh, you won’t need my help.”

“Thanks!” Sam smiled and took a big drink of coffee. His eyes widened when he realized what Haley had said, and he hoped she didn’t mean it like that.

Haley had already moved on from the kitchen to the living room, where she was laying out her camera and lenses on the desk. Jodi ushered Vincent outside and Sam wandered out behind them, leaving Kent inside. 

Kent nervously approached Haley.

“Yes, Mr. Kent?”

“I need to ask you for a favor.” He planted a hand on the desk and leaned over toward her. “And don’t tell my wife.”

Emily breezed in between them. She was only a couple inches taller than Kent, but she used that height to loom like a cobra. 

Still, she smiled sweetly. “What sort of favor do you need from my sister?”

Haley let out a sigh of relief. She had no idea how or why Emily had gotten in, and in that moment, didn’t care.

“Oh, Yoba! Wow, I can imagine how horrible this must have looked!” Kent stepped backwards.

“Almost all the way horrible,” Emily said flatly.

“Well, I saw on the poster for Haley’s portraits that they might be used for her portfolio. Haley, is that right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Okay, here’s that favor.” Kent averted his eyes. “Even though I’m technically out of the service, there are still some people who really want me dead.” His eyes met Haley’s again. “Will you please not publish my face, or any of my tattoos?”

“I can do that. Are you okay with pictures of your face in your personal, printed family photos?” Haley asked.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Are you okay with photos of your face being saved electronically on my personal devices or online for archive purposes?

“No ma’am.”

“Are you okay with your name being associated with photos of any part of you?”

“No ma’am. I...hadn’t even thought of that. Just use Jodi’s name, no surname.” Kent nodded. “Thank you for being so respectful of my need for privacy.” 

“Of course, thank you for agreeing to sit for portraits and not actually being a creep. You had me scared for a second.”

Emily held back a laugh. How could Haley get away with saying stuff like that?

“Well, thank you, both of you ladies, for being forgiving. I really gotta get out more.” Kent walked outside without another word.

Haley raised an eyebrow at Emily.

“I had a gut feeling that you were in trouble,” Emily said.

“Yeah, kinda what it seemed like. Does the Army turn people into jerks or what?”

“Haley!” 

“What?”

“You can’t just say that!” Emily chuckled. “I mean, it kind of does. But think about why, soldiers have a whole different way of communicating and they deal with stress that we’ll never know.” 

“Yeah, I can see that.” Haley cringed. “Guess I’ll have to figure out his photos on the fly.”

“MISS HALEY!” Vincent’s voice, even from outside, was practically a roar.

Haley grabbed a lens and headed outside. “What’s up, Vincent?”

“I think I know how you take pictures!”

“Oh, really? Tell me more about that,” Haley said, squatting down to Vincent’s level.

“Well, if you want to make something look big, you take a picture of it really close and it takes up a lot of room on the page. And if you want to make it look small, you take a picture of it when it’s far away, or it's small!”

“You know, that’s a big part of it.” Haley showed Vincent the back of her camera. “Check it out, let’s test that by taking a picture of your mom.”

“Why Mom?” Vincent asked.

“‘Cause she’s pretty, of course! First, let’s get a picture of her where she looks small. See how she’s over by the front door? I’m gonna zoom my camera out, literally move the lens backward.”

Vincent cackled as Jodi got smaller on the screen.

“See? Now she takes up less space in the picture as a whole. On top of that, we have the door frame and the window. Both of those things, standing next to her, make her look small.”

“But maybe you should make her look bigger. Because she’s Mom! And she’s in charge! And she’s strong! She can pick me up even though I’m six!”

“Okay. What we’ll do is move the lens closer to her.” She zoomed in so that Jodi’s body filled the frame, top to bottom. 

“Bigger!”

“Yeah! Let’s get just her face!” Haley zoomed in even closer, and got a shot of Jodi’s face from Vincent’s point of view, looking up at her.

“I knew it!” Again, Vincent laughed.

“I know! Can you take a picture of a bug and make it super big? And then take a picture of me and make it small? And then take a picture of the yard and make it normal sized? And then put the picture of me on the picture of the bug and put that--” he giggled. He took a deep breath and tried again, talking through giggles. “--and put it so it looks like I’m riding a bug in the yard!” He cracked up.

“Um...why?”

Vincent’s laughter told the whole story. “Because it’s funny! And it’s cool!” He was beside himself.

“Oh, yeah, dude, that would be sick!” Sam chimed in. “Yo Haley, could you take some action shots of me skating?”

“If we have time, but really, I’m here to get portraits.” She stood. “Your mom’s the paying customer, and she wants family portraits.” She smiled and shrugged.

“Alright! Jodi, Kent, Vincent, Sam! The first set we’ll do is coffee on the front step. I have the Adirondack chairs set up right by the front door. Jodi and Kent, will you please sit down with your coffees?”

Jodi and Kent took their seats. Jodi’s mug was pink ceramic. Kent’s was a blue steel camp mug. Both were only about half full.

“What should I do?” Vincent asked.

“Why don’t you tell them about what you’ve been doing in school?” Haley asked.

“OH YEAH!” Vincent jumped up on Kent’s lap. “We’re learning about the history of the Ferngill Republic! And cowboys!”

Haley started snapping pictures. Sam wandered over to Jodi and knelt down by her chair.

Vincent continued. “Before there were cars and stuff, cowboys had to do cattle drives. That’s when cowboys on horses would, like, tell the cows to go to the market, and keep them in line and stuff, and rope them if they started going the wrong way…”

“Really?” Kent asked. “What else have you been learning about the cowboys?”

Vincent sighed. “A lot of them were native Ferngillians. Because being a cowboy wasn’t super fun, you had to, like, camp out even if it was raining or snowing.”

Jodi nodded. “Did you know we have some ancestors who were natives?”

Kent raised an eyebrow.

“On my side,” she said. “My grandmother was native and my grandfather was absent, use your imagination as to how that happened.” She rolled her eyes.

Sam cringed.

Vincent, totally unaware, did just as his mom asked. “Um...he died protecting his family from a giant rock crab!”

Sam shrugged. “Well, she did ask you to use your imagination...and that’s what you did.”

After a little more school talk, Haley sent the family inside. She took a quick look around the yard to see if she could find a bug, and much to her dismay, she found a fat, squishy grub. 

Nose wrinkled in disgust, she gently picked it up and put it on the lid of the trash can, where the clouds gave a good contrast between the dull steel of the lid and the translucent yellowish-white of the grub. She put on her macro lens, took pictures from a few different angles, and set the bug down in the grass.

After washing her hands thoroughly, she went back to the living room. Jodi and Kent sat on opposite ends of the couch with Vincent sprawled out between them. Sam sat backwards on the desk chair.

“So, guys, while I set up my camera, I’ll tell you a little bit about our inside photos,” Haley said. “What I’d like to do is have everyone take me to a room in the house. I’ll call you one by one, or in a group, like maybe Mom and Dad or Sam and Vincent. When we’re in that room, I’ll chat with you, you can show me things, and so on. Think of it as more of an interview than a photoshoot.”

Jodi, Sam, and Vincent’s faces lit up. Kent cringed.

“I wanna go first!” Vincent rolled off the couch and jumped up.

“Alright! Vincent, please take me to your favorite room in the house, and show me your favorite thing. I’ll give you a head start, I need to grab another lens.”

Vincent ran off.

Haley turned to Jodi and Kent. “So, how do you think this is gonna go?”

Jodi and Kent caught each other’s eyes and laughed uproariously. Haley couldn’t have asked for a better set of happy, smiling shots! She snapped pictures until the laughter died down.

“Miss Haley!” Vincent called. “I’m in my bedroom! And it’s right by Sam’s room!”

Haley found Vincent’s room without much trouble. She found him lying on the floor, using markers to color a picture of a giant dinosaur on a piece of butcher paper that was bigger than he was.

“Tell me about what you’re doing!”

“Okay. So. Did you even know that they make paper this big? It’s called butcher paper, and Jas’s aunt Marnie had some extra, so she gave it to me!”

“Wow! And what’s the picture?”

Vincent carefully stepped off the paper, which was taped to the floor, and sat on his bed. “Take a picture of it! It’s a dinosaur called the Ultimate Hungrysaurus, and it’s a giant! Look at the buildings by its feet! It’s squishing them!” Vincent cackled, making Haley glad she had her camera pointing at him rather than the paper.

After she got that moment on film, she looked down. It looked like something out of a comic book, only huge.

“Vincent? Did you draw that?”

“Yeah!” Vincent leaned over the edge of the bed. “He destroyed all those buildings! And he’s terrorizing Zuzu City! But look over here!”

“Sure, with my camera!” Haley squatted down, taking photos of Vincent as he explained.

“It’s the ARMY!” Vincent tried his best to laugh an evil laugh. “They’re gonna get the Ultimate Hungrysaurus! But it's okay, they’re just gonna trap it and take it to the zoo!”

“That’s...surprisingly wholesome.” Haley giggled.

Vincent didn’t seem to hear her. “I had to draw the tanks really small,” he explained, “because the Ultimate Hungrysaurus is SO big!”

“I see that! By drawing the tanks smaller, the dinosaur looks bigger.” She took a few photos of the drawing.

“Yeah, but it’s okay, because they have super big nets that they can shoot out of their tank guns, and it doesn’t hurt the dinosaur, and it has, like, dinosaur medicine on it that makes the dinosaur act nice and calm…”

By the end of the tour of his room, Vincent had marker on his hands and a giant smile on his face. Sam was next; Haley used the time he spent getting his board and warming up to take pictures of Kent and Jodi cuddling with Vincent.

It was a long day, full of stories and photos and squats to get down to Vincent’s level. Still, Haley came home with hundreds of raw photos, and a huge boost in her confidence. She also came home with stories.

When Haley took pictures of Sam’s sick skate moves, she also captured Vincent in the window, gazing at his brother in wide-eyed admiration. When she took pictures of Kent, she’d later find Sam in the same pose, or with the same look on his face. When she took pictures of Vincent and the giant bug, she managed to get a photo of his wild imagination. And when she took pictures of Jodi, Haley captured a wistfulness in her eyes, as if she was looking all the way across the Gem Sea at a life she’d never have.


	3. Evelyn, George, and Alex's portraits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn and George have a big anniversary coming up, and Evelyn's sisters want photos. Alex decides this is as good a time as any to get a professional headshot taken, and he makes sure he looks his best. Is the photo the only reason?

“I just don’t see what the dang-blasted deal is,” George said, “you know what I look like, Evelyn knows what I look like and she can’t see anymore anyway, I know what I look like, so why are we even bothering with you wrestling me into this monkey suit?”

“Because your fiftieth wedding anniversary is coming up,” Alex said plainly. “Evelyn has sisters and nieces and nephews who want to see pictures. And I’m not counting the people who haven’t even been born yet!”

“Why? We’re a couple of wrinkled old bumpkins!”

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself! You’re a part of our family’s story. You’re someone, and you’re someone’s ancestor. Besides, don’t you wish you had more pictures of my mom?”

“Well, yeah, but she was a beautiful woman! And she was my daughter!”

He hoisted his grandfather off the bed, pulled George’s suit pants up, and fastened them. “I’m glad Emily put zippers in the inseams of these things, that’ll make it easier for you to empty your catheter bag…”

“Yoba’s ass, it makes me feel like I’m wearing baby clothes!” George glanced down at his legs. The zippers couldn’t be seen; they were hidden with flaps of navy blue fabric. “I’ll be glad to get back into my sweatpants.”

“I’m sure you will.” Alex grabbed George’s suit shirt and coat from the closet. He didn’t mention how much he didn’t want to get George back into sweatpants; moving an adult human who’s paralyzed from the waist down is challenging even under the easiest and most pleasant circumstances. George was not a pleasant circumstance, even on a good day.

“And she stuck me with a blue suit! If she was gonna intrude on my life and make some baby clothes for me, why not ask me what color I want!” George pulled the shirt across his shoulders and grabbed a button. “Wait, this doesn’t feel quite right…”

The button jumped to its mate, a magnet, on the other side of the shirt. “Yoba! The damned thing buttons itself!”

“That’s so cool!” Alex reached out, then balled up his fists. “Can I try one?”

“Go ahead.”

Alex grabbed the bottom button, and the space where the buttonhole would be. The shirt snapped together. “Nice!”

“Glad someone’s havin’ fun with this. Gimme my coat.”

As soon as Alex helped George put his suit jacket on, George had more orders. “Gimme a tie that’ll go with this stupid blue. And get me back in my chair.”

“Yes, sir. Looks like the only tie you have is black, so I’ll get one from my room. I’ll put you in your chair first, okay?”

“Hmph. Okay.”

Alex lifted his grandpa to the wheelchair, then headed up to his room. He waited until the door closed behind him to roll his eyes. He grabbed a couple ties from the closet and headed back toward George and Evelyn’s room.

At the last second, he turned on a heel and made a beeline for the kitchen. Maybe George needed a cookie. Alex definitely needed one. 

When he got to the kitchen, he saw Haley and Evelyn, having a better time than him and George. Haley was putting makeup on Evelyn.

“Oh, honey, it was a different world back then! We got married in my grandpappy’s church, where Pierre’s store is now, on a Saturday night. Then there was a reception at the Nanny Goat Pub that went all night!” she chuckled. “We were all decked out in our finest, the whole town, not just George and I.” Her head snapped up.

“Who’s in the cookie jar!” she called.

“It’s Alex, Granny. Gramps is on a tear, so I’m hoping some food will help.”

“Me too,” Evelyn said.

“Me three!” Haley giggled.

“Oh, you!” Evelyn gave Haley a playful nudge. “I haven’t heard a ‘Me three’ since Alex was in middle school!”

A few minutes later, Alex left the bedroom. “Haley? Would you like to do my grandparents’ portraits first while I get ready for my professional headshot?”

George was right behind him. “And another thing, there’s nowhere in this town worth wearing this danged--”

His chair stopped. He gasped.

“Evelyn!” For the first time all morning, a wide smile spread across his face. “Honey, you look beautiful!”

Haley grabbed her camera and snapped away, slightly disappointed that she couldn’t just watch the moment unfold without having to worry about shutter speeds and light settings.

Evelyn walked up to her husband, bent down, and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. “And you look handsome, my dear! Now, don’t argue. I know we’re both a little older than we were on our wedding day. But seeing you like this, with our anniversary coming up, reminds me of that day and all the…” She leaned in and spoke softly in her husband’s ear.

George’s eyes widened. His cheeks flushed red. He giggled and put a hand on her hip. “Oh, you’re still a little flirt!”

“Only for you, dear.”

Alex grabbed another cookie from the jar in the kitchen.

Evelyn stood behind George. Instead of pushing his chair, she put an arm around his shoulder and tottered beside him as he wheeled himself out to the kitchen. “Haley! Look at this man! He came from humble beginnings and went through hard times, but by Yoba’s Divine Providence, we’ve made it this far! Fifty years!”

“Oh, don’t get all sappy, honey!” George cringed. “We’ll save that for later, when it’s just the two of us and a bottle of Castle Village Sparkling White, 25 year vintage!”

“Wait.” She turned to face him. 

Again, Haley started snapping pictures. 

Evelyn continued. “Did you say Castle Village, 25 year?”

“Sure did! Bought it on our 25th anniversary trip!”

“Oh, you remembered!” Evelyn’s voice cracked. “That little winery was so precious and that 25-year vintage was the best thing I’d ever tasted!” Her chin trembled.

“I stayed behind and bought some! You thought I was on the can!” He laughed. “I was buyin’ a bottle of I Love My Wife Juice to squirrel away for the next 25 years!”

Evelyn pulled a tissue out of her little purse and dabbed the tears away from her eyes. “George, dear! Thank you! That’s amazing!”

“Well, thank you! Ya basically spelled it out for me, buy exactly this thing and I’ll be happy, made it easy for me.”

After a few photos inside the house and in the front yard, Haley walked with Evelyn and George to Pierre’s store so they could take pictures in the sanctuary where they were married. Haley had bought bouquets and balloons to decorate the room and the altar, and had reserved the room to make sure they’d get it to themselves. There was a tiny bistro table in the center of the room, with champagne on ice and little crudites, begging to be part of the party. A mini jukebox was set up in the corner, playing the big band music that was popular when Evelyn and George got married. 

“Well?” George asked. “What do you want us to do?” 

“Have a seat, drink some champagne, eat some snacks, and forget that I’m even here.” 

And that’s exactly what they did. Evelyn got plates of snacks and flutes of champagne for herself and George, and they reminisced about the big day.

Meanwhile, at home, Alex had just gotten out of the shower. He opened the medicine cabinet to reveal hair gels and pomades, skin moisturizers, sunscreens, shaving cream, aftershave, cologne, even mud masks and eye cream. If someone saw and wanted to call him girly for having so many products, he’d just roast them for looking in the medicine cabinet. He was a strong man, and he wanted to make sure he was a handsome man, too.

He skipped the gel and fixed his hair with pomade to look a little more professional. He shaved and moisturized his face, and even dabbed on a little concealer under his eyes to even out the darker skin tone. He sprayed on just enough cologne, making sure to use the bottle that Haley had given him as a birthday gift. Sure, he was only getting his photo taken, but it would give him that little swagger of confidence…

Oh, who was he kidding?

He hoped Haley would smell it and feel some attraction.

He put on his suit and dress shoes, checking the mirror dozens of times to make sure everything was just right, then headed for Pierre’s. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

“Alex! Looking sharp!” Pierre gave him a thumbs up.

“Thank you, sir!” Alex walked toward the sanctuary.

Abigail saw him, then did a double take. She snuck another peek and blushed.

Evelyn, George, and Haley were too wrapped up in a story to notice him at first.

“So Mona was out on the dance floor, and you know how she used to dress, she was wearing this gorgeous slinky red number.” Evelyn said with a giggle. “Little Caroline was just a baby, so she was in Mona’s arms, of course. So Lewis--”

“OH! I know where this is goin’!” George interrupted, roaring with laughter. Haley was circling the table, snapping photos.

“Lewis, all twenty years and hundred pounds of him, puts a hand on Mona’s rear end, pats Caroline on the head, and he says, you know, I could make you another one of those!”

Alex laughed with Evelyn and George. He couldn’t help it.

Evelyn continued. “So she took one hand off of Caroline, stepped back, then hauled off and smacked him in the face!”

“WHAT!” Alex laughed.

George hollered. “Yeah, that’s why you keep your hands to yourself and your girls away from Lewis!”

“Alex, dear!” Evelyn called. “Come on over! Sit with us!”

“Hang on,” Haley said. “Alex, lemme get your picture first.” She lowered her camera.

“Sure.”

For the first time since that morning, Haley got a good look at Alex. She gasped.

“You look like you could sell sand in the Calico Desert!” George laughed.

“Well, if this athletic trainer job for the Tunnelers doesn’t work out, I might have to!” Alex shrugged.

“Alex, let’s head over to the back of the room, against the white backdrop.” Haley tried to give him a cool smile, but it ended up a goofy, awkward, blushing grin.

Alex knew this was good news. He had to try hard not to do a happy dance on the way to the wall, since Haley was behind him.

“Oh, you smell good!”

He could have melted.

Before she took the photos, Haley positioned Alex so his body was slightly offset from the camera. Her face was bright red.

She reached up and straightened his tie. Her eyes met his. “Alex, you look amazing.”

He looked down at her, dressed to take photos in a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. “So do you. You always do. Do...you wanna go out when you’re done with the shoot?”

She kept one hand on his tie and put her other hand on his chest. “Sure. It’ll take me a bit to wrap up and change into something that matches that suit a little better, but yeah. I’d love that.”

“Me too.”

Somehow, George seemed half as heavy when Alex changed his clothes and got him back in his wheelchair after the portrait session. Maybe it’s because Alex was practically walking on air.


	4. Mountain House Photos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demetrius convinces Robin to get family photos. Him and Maru aren't camera shy at all, but Sebastian and Robin are a different story.

It was a tale of two rooms.

In the lab, Demetrius was dressed in a sharp, well-fitted suit with a gold tie. Maru wore a gold knee-length dress to match her father. Haley was able to use those two as a warm up and equipment check; they both loved to ham it up for the camera, and wanted to be in as many pictures as possible. To check the light, they struck ridiculous poses. To check the zoom lens, Maru crossed her eyes and had Haley take a picture.

Demetrius got the bright idea to put on music so they could dance.

They started out with some hip hop, popping and locking, then getting silly with it. Maru did the cabbage patch. Demetrius tried to one-up her with the sprinkler. She did the running man. He did the bus stop. She flossed. He moonwalked. Haley, laughing and hoping she had enough space on her memory card to handle those two, tried to keep up.

The song switched to a slow jam, one that fathers and daughters often danced to at weddings. Demetrius moonwalked over to his daughter and held out a hand. “May I?”

“Of course!” She curtsied and took his hand, and they went from silly to sentimental in the blink of an eye.

“This is great, you two!” Haley circled them, snapping pictures as they waltzed around the lab. It was such a bizarre setting; father and daughter dancing in formalwear as beakers and flasks bubbled behind them.

“Yo dad, it looks like the Ancient Fruit embryos are exposed!” Maru stopped short in front of a beaker.

“Wait, what?” Demetrius stopped, too. “Haley, come over here!”

Haley wandered over, taking pictures of them looking interested in what looked like plain muddy water to her.

“No, look in the beaker.” Demetrius pointed to the bottom of the beaker. There were little white spots visible in what looked like soil and shells. “Those are Ancient Fruit embryos. They’ve been around since the time of the dinosaurs.”

“Can you take a picture of us with the beaker?!” Maru was practically buzzing with excitement. 

“Sure.” Haley stepped back.

Maru grabbed the beaker and held it out proudly. Demetrius stood beside her, a million watt smile on his face.

“Maybe we can send the picture in when we submit this to Seed Science Monthly.” Demetrius put the beaker back.

“Wait, we?” Maru tucked a lock of meticulously straightened hair behind her ear.

“You’ve been doing as much work on this as I have, honey. I’m giving you second author credit on the paper I’m writing about the project.”

Maru squealed and leapt into her dad’s arms, much to Haley’s delight. More pictures! More running around to get the perfect angle! 

In Sebastian’s room, the mood was much different.

“I don’t wanna do this either.” Robin, dressed in a burgundy dress with the same cut as Maru’s, sat on Sebastian’s bed and sulked. 

“Then why’d you let Demetrius talk you into it?” Sebastian, dressed in a suit just like his stepfather’s only without the close fit, with a burgundy tie instead of gold, sat at his computer. 

“He brought up a good point. You kids are gonna be moving away soon, and we don’t have any pictures of you at this age.”

“Can’t I just take a selfie?” He laughed sardonically.

“I mean pictures of the whole family!” Robin ran her fingers through her hair, which fell past her shoulders when it wasn’t pulled up. “Even me. Even though I hate it.”

“Why do you hate it? You at least look good.” Sebastian raised his arm, showing how his suit hung off of him. “I look like a stick figure in this suit.”

“Thanks for the compliment, hon. Sorry we weren’t able to get your suit tailored. I tried to get it into Emily’s last week, but she was all booked up with Flower Dance stuff.”

“Ugh! That’s coming up, too!”

Robin ignored that last comment. “Sebby, I hate getting my picture taken because I hate dressing up and I hate being in photos.”

There was a knock on the door.

“Ready to join the party?” Haley asked.

“Nope.”

“Sebby! Don’t be rude!”

“I was being honest!”

Sebastian and Robin dragged themselves out of the basement, Sebby tugging at his clothes, Robin fidgeting with her hair, to meet Demetrius, Maru, and Haley in the living room.

“Robin, you look great!” Demetrius took Robin’s hand and tried to spin her around. 

“Oh! Thanks, I didn’t know we were dancing,” she laughed, awkwardly spinning in a circle. She stepped up to him and gave him a kiss.

“Let’s get this over with.” Sebastian gave Maru a pointed glare. 

“Don’t worry, Dad and I got our sillies out in the lab!” Maru looked Sebastian up and down. “You clean up nice, by the way.”

“Huh. Thanks, so do you. Did you go to Grampleton and do that super straightening treatment you were talking about?”

“Nope, this was all me. Two hours with a flatiron.” Maru ran a hand through her hair.

“Why don’t you just leave it curly?”

“Because I’d look like a little kid!”

Sebastian rested his arm on Maru’s head. “As opposed to…?” He laughed.

“Hey, Sebastian and Maru! While I’m taking your parents’ pictures, why don’t you head into the kitchen and make some coffee?”

“Why?” Sebastian took his arm off Maru’s head.

“Because it’s good,” Maru laughed.

“Yeah!” Haley giggled. “And because I know all of you like your coffee, and I’d like to have a shot of all four of you sitting around the kitchen table, drinking coffee.”

Maru and Sebastian wandered off to the kitchen.

“That never happens, though.” Sebastian reached on top of the fridge and got the bag of the good coffee, Stardew Valley light roast, fresh from the farm.

“Dancing in the lab never happens, either, but Haley got some good pictures of me and Dad doing just that. Sometimes you gotta do silly stuff for the picture.”

“No you don’t.”

“Well, you know what I mean!” Maru rinsed out the coffee pot.

Sebastian scooped coffee into the filter. “Want it strong, or really strong?”

“Really strong. I’m going to Penny’s tonight to watch a show about how the Castle Bridge was built.”

“Is that a euphemism?” He chuckled.

“Nope. The technology that went into that drawbridge is amazing!” Maru turned on the coffee maker. “I told her that the show was gonna be on tonight and suggested she watch it, and she invited me over.”

“Wait. Is that actually why you did your hair?”

“Maaaaaybe.” Maru blushed. “Don’t tell Dad, though, I don’t want him to get all weird about it.”

“You know I don’t tell him anything.” Sebastian grabbed four mugs from the cupboard. “He could be on fire, and I’d have Mom pass along a message.”

“What did he ever do to you?”

“Tried to be my dad, which he’s not.” Sebastian shrugged. “I don’t have a dad. I don’t need a dad. I have Mom. That’s enough. It was enough when I was a little kid, and it’s enough now. I don’t need Mom’s husband coming in here and trying to raise me when he doesn’t even know me. I mean, I know he’s not an asshole on purpose, he’s always just done his best learning to parent...”

The air came to life with the sound of shutter clicks. Sebastian, monologuing and putting dishes in the dishwasher, didn’t seem to notice.

“...but I really resent being his practice kid. He screws it all up with me and says the wrong things, so he knows the right things to say to you.”

“I’d never thought of it that way!” Maru stood and grabbed a mug. “Coffee’s done, by the way. I know how everyone takes theirs, I’ll mix ‘em up.” 

“Perfect timing!” Haley said. “Mom and Dad are taking a little break, so I can get some sibling shots now…”

The day went on. Maru, Sebastian, Demetrius, and Robin sat around the kitchen table, drinking coffee and talking about their projects; they decided it was fun enough to do regularly. Sebastian didn’t say a word about Maru’s visit to Penny’s house; Maru made it seem like a spur of the moment thing. Maru and Demetrius couldn’t resist hamming it up for the camera, and Haley had to remind them many times to act natural. Haley would remember it as one of her favorite shoots.


End file.
